Vania



4 W. GUETHLER & F GELLHAUS.

1GB VELOUIPEDE.

No. 485,844. Patented Nov. 8, 1892.

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WVILLIAM GUETHLER AND FRANK GELIJHAUS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL- VANIA; SAID GUETHLER ASSIGNOR- TO \VILHELM NEILSEN, OF SAME v PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,844, dated November 8, 1892.

Application filed February 23, 1892. Serial No. 422,5 l'7. (N model.)

eration of the driving-wheel and its propel-,

ling mechanism, and, third, to certain details of construction of the driving-wheel and its accessories.

The principal objects of our invention are, first, to provide a light, simple, and comparazo tively-inexpensive ice-velocipede having a body or sled portion adapted to accommodate either a man or a woman and having the driving Wheel and propelling mechanism adapted for operation in such manner that the force with which the roughened tread of the driving wheel is brought into contact with ice or snow is proportional to the power required to drive the velocipede, so that the roughened tread of the driving-wheel is pre- 0 vented from slipping upon the ice or snow; second, to provide simple means for lifting the driving-Wheel out of contact with snow or ice and then locking the same in such position, and, third, to construct the runners or skates of the body or sled portion in such manner that they are adapted to travel over either ice or snow.

Our invention consists of an ice-velocipedc comprising a bifurcated backbone provided with a steering-head and having the center portion thereof curved upward to accommodate the driving-wheel, runners connected with the steering-head and with the respective bifurcations of the backbone, a saddle at the summit of the curved portion of the backbone, a driving-wheel having its axis disposed intermediate of the bifurcations and steering-head and supported by a swinging frame, a pedal-shaft journaled to the backbone and located beneath the axis of the driving-wheel, and a sprocket-chain and its accessories for operating said driving-wheel.

Our invention consists of an ice-velocipede provided with a swinging frame having a drivingwheel journaled thereto, a pedalshaft located in front of and below the axis of the driving-wheel, a sprocket-chain and its accessories interposed between the drivingwheel and pedal-shaft, a rod connected with the swinging frame for elevating the drivingwheel, and a bayonet connection for locking the rod, and thereby supporting the drivingwheel in an elevated position; and our invention further consists of the improvements runners drawn to an enlarged scale and taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, a is the body or sled portion of an ice--velocipede. This sled portion a comprises a backbone Z), provided at the front thereof with sockets Z) for supporting a steering-head c and curved upward at or near the center thereof to accommodate the driving-wheel c. The rear portion of the backbone b is bifurcated, and the respective bifurcations b and b thereof straddle the driving-wheel e and are provided with runners f, hereinafter more fully described. The summit of the upwardly curved portion of the backbone Z) is provided with a seat or saddle 11 that may be adjusted upward or downward by means of the set-screw b in order to accommodate diiferent riders. The upper extremity of the steering-head c is provided with handles 0 and'c curved rearwardly into easy reach of the rider, and the lower extremity of the steering-head c is provided with a pilot-runner c The mechanism for propellingthe sledor. body portion of the velocipede will now'be described.

The driving-wheel e is provided with a rpughened tread e and with a sprocket-wheel 6.. the driving-wheel e are journaled in a swinging frame 9, pivotally connected at its rear end with the respective bifurcations b and b of the backbone b. The front portion of the swinging frame 9 moves in a s rap b connected with the front portion of the backbone 17. I

h is alink connected at one extremity with the front portion of the swinging frame 9 and provided at the other extremity thereof with a handle it. A pin 71?, projecting radially from the link It, and the slotted sleeve h is connected with the backbone to form a bayonet-joint, by means of which the swinging frame g is locked in an elevated position when the pin k is in the position shown in Fig. 1, and is afforded a freedom of motion when the pin 72 is turned into alignment with the groove of the sleeve h t' is a pedal-shaft provided with a sprocketwheel t and with pedals '9. This pedal-shaft 'L is journaled in a lug i depending from the backbone b, and is located nearer to the runners than the axis of the driving-Wheel, the object being to cause the tight side of the sprocket-chain e to draw the roughened periphery of the driving-wheel into contact with the ice or snow whenever power is applied to the pedals.

It may be remarked that the force with.

which the periphery of the driving-wh'eeliis pressed upon the ice or snow is proportioned to the power exerted upon the pedals, so that slipping of the driving-wheel is obviated. Moreover, the peculiar formation of the backbone 1) and the position of the pedal-shaft and the steering-head form a space an, adapted to accommodate a woman rider.

The runners are made concave in order to travel freely over ice and are provided with flanges projecting laterally from their shanks f in order to adapt the runners of the vehicle to travel on snow. It will thus be observed that the hereinabovedescribed velocipede is adapted for use on either snow or ice.

The mode of operation of the velocipede hereinabove-described is as follows: When the velocipede is not in use or is being propelled downhill by gravity or by its own momentum, the swinging frame is locked'in an elevated position, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 1, so that the periphery of the drivingwheel will be held out of contact with the ice or snow. When the velocipede is beingv propelled by a rider seated upon the saddle, the pin 72, is turned into alignment withlthe slot in the sleeve h so that the frame 9 is afforded a freedom of swinging movement. However, the force exerted upon the pedal-shaft 'i by the feet of the rider causes the sprocket-chain e not only to rotate the driving-wheel 6, but

The respective extremities of the axis of' It may be remarked that the hereinabovedescribed ice-velocipede is guided by means of the handlesc and c and steering-head c in the usual or in any other preferred manner.

Having thus described the nature and objects of our invention,what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An ice-velocipede comprising a bifurcated backbone provided with a steering-head and having the center portion thereof curved upward to accommodate the driving-wheel, runners connected with the steering-head and 'with the respective bifurcations of the backbone, a saddle at the summit of the curved portion of the backbone, a driving-wheel hav- {ing its axis disposed intermediate of said hiifurcations and steering head, a swinging iframe for supporting the axis of the driving- ;"Wheel, a pedal-shaft journaled to the back- {ibone and located beneath and in front of the faxis of the driving-wheel, and a sprocketjchain and its accessories for operating said fdriving-wheel, substantially as and for the 'Epurposes set forth.

f 2. In an ice-velocipede, a swinging framev having a driving-wheel journaled thereto, a pedal-shaft journaled to a backbone in front of and below the axis of the driving-wheel, a sprocket-chain, sprocket-wheels connected with. the driving-wheel and pedal-shafts, a jlink connected with the swinging frame for elevating the driving-wheel, and a bayonet- ]jointconnected with said backbone and link and adapted to lock said link, and thereby support said driving-wheel in an elevated position, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. 1

3. An ice-velocipede provided with a bifurcated backbone having a steering-head and having the center portion thereof curved upvward to accommodate the driving-wheel, concave runners having lateral flanges projecting from the shanks thereof and said runners connected with the steering-head and with the bifurcations of the backbone, an adj ustable saddle supported at the summit of the backbone, aswinging frame carrying the driviug-wheel, a pedal-shaft located in front of and below the axis of the driving-wheel, a sprocket-chain, sprocket-wheels connected with the driving-wheel and pedal-shafts, a link ;ing frame carrying the driving-wheel, a link connected with said frame for elevating the wheel, a pin on said link, and a slotted sleeve embracing said link and attached to the backbone and said pin and sleeve forming a bayonet-jointfor locking the frame in an elevated position, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. An ice-velocipede comprising a bifurcated backbone provided with a steering-head and having the center portion thereof curved upward to accommodate the driving-wheel, runners connected with the steering-head and with the respective bifurcations of the back bone, a saddle at the summit of the curved portion of the backbone, a swinging frame journaled to said bifurcations and extending into proximity with the steering-head, a link accessible to the rider for elevating said swinging frame, a driving-wheel journaled to 

